Alright. So anyway, had a GS for a couple months this summer. Decided to do a bit of a "revenge tour" to make things right from the previous year's "eventful" ride. (http://www.fjrforum....post&pid=845941) Spent some time learning to be better prepared for the solo-excursions off the beaten path. Got a bike better suited to the task, and bought a whole bunch of adventure kit. Didn't use a lot of it though haha. Still, had it all just in case and the confidence boost it gave made all the difference in the world.

Still a long way from a proper rough and ready sort, I was pretty tame when compared to the legions of proper adventurers out there. But sure as shit didn't feel like it at the time haha. Sure didn't help that I am f00king shit in the rough stuff. Still, pushed on as best I could.

Never really had a route planned except to get to Oregon and explore the roads I was trying to explore when I was victimized by the terrorist bear. Other than that pretty much just dicked around and set up camp most days when I got tired at the end of the day.

So.......the first leg of the journey.

To Oregon!

Kitted up and fully loaded.

Southern Alberta,

Central Alberta may be boring as all hell. Western Alberta may be where everyone flocks to. But Southern Alberta was somewhere I wanted to explore a little bit. It was a good idea. It's quite nice down there. Big skies. Lazy days. Nice place to unwind since it's got stuff to look at and you're pretty much alone the second you turn off the main highways. Plus if you're into the whole history thing it's kinda cool, and really easy, to visualize the place a couple hundred years ago. It's pretty untouched in a lot of ways.

Honestly every time I pass through Montana it blows me away. I always just plan for it to be some random state to just rip through quickly on the way to more interesting places, but it always surprises me. Guess that's because I take the random roads through it. It's an amazing place. You could spend a month there and still want to explore more.

Initially the plan was to try to find the continental divide trail. That was a bust since I guess it's actually pretty rough and you can't take motorbikes up there. Still, poked around a little bit.

Explored around and pretty soon I figured out that just dicking around and exploring on my own is not actually getting me anywhere truly epic. So I ask some local guys for some good backroads. Very glad I did...

Climbing is the easy part...

Starting to make use of the tires at least haha. Carried on climbing for a while.

Bout 2 hours or so after turning off the asphalt I get to the top. Probably felt as great as it did because I was 1) fucking terrified I was going to get chased down and eaten by a bear and 2) pushing my stress level a little bit with the road having gotten rougher and still trying to keep my pace up to make it back down before dark.

Woke up next morning. Had set up the tent in the dark. Love this tent. So easy to throw together. You can do it blindfolded with one hand tied behind your back.

Loaded up again....got pretty quick at it. 10 minutes to go time:

Nice place to camp:

The moon. No reason why.

Hmm, couldn't find her.

Now into Idaho.

I spent a LOT more time in Idaho than I was planning on.

Started the day off with a decision. I'm going to do the little house on the prairie thing and ride off into the scenery. It's going to be AWESOME. Haha......yeah. Of course. Retarded I can be at times....

Turn off the main road.

Turn off the side road.

Turn off that road.

Promptly get stuck trying to ride through a ridge that's like a foot or so high.

Managed to get out....

Prepared!! Oh yeah.

Haha

Back on the "road" again....

After like 20-30 more minutes of what can only be described as a terrible idea, decided to get back to a road. Haha. Worst idea ever. Was not the carefree putting through the scenery that I thought it was going to be. Haha. Lesson learned. Find and use trails you retard.

Tried to get up there to have a sandwich:

Failed.

Haha so anyway, I was initially planning on ripping through it in as little time as possible. But the scorching heat in the central desert bit, and a couple EPIC roads, made me decide to enjoy the day and take it easy.

I saw this road on google maps and decided I had to check it out. Looked like a piece of spaghetti. Good call.

On the way to Oregon via spaghetti road.

But still it was time to make some time back and get through it. End of day should be deep into Oregon.

While on the way there though I got distracted.

Cooool. How do I get up there?

Ah, no problem. No problem at all....

Oh shit. Yes problem. Problem indeed.

Haha parked it there and decided maybe it wasn't work almost dropping the bike. Rocks were not helping.

Walked to the top.

Decided, suck it up and stop being lame. Just use the throttle you sissy.

Success! Haha. So lame yet so awesome.

Onwards.

So turns out if I had gone around the corner there was a MUCH easier way to get up there. Haha....idiot.

After poking around up there for like an hour or so I decided I had no idea how to get back to where I came from.

Technology FTW. Waypoints!

On to spaghetti road.

Didn't take a lot of pictures as it was just so much god damned fun. I was amazed at how aggressive you can be on knobby tires even with a fully loaded machine. Adjustable pre-load really helped.

What also helped? Knowing how to dial it in haha.

"Don't dial it to 11 for awesome"-J. Knapik

OTP suspension class......highly recommended. You learn a lot about a component on your machine you have overlooked tremendously in the past (least I had anyway). There's a reason people in the know spend as much time/money/effort on their suspensions as they do. It's a critical component.

Anyway, I digress. Knobby tires on a scorching hot day on the cleanest bit of twisty tarmac ever. Great riding. Note: ABS brakes....get used to them BEFORE you need them or you will piss yourself the first time you experience it running in a little hot into a corner and being heavy on the rear brake. Haha....was good that it wasn't locking but it's a pretty awkward time to have to figure out what that weird pulsing sensation is.

Still, Idaho was epic. It's tough to explain why but you do feel like you're going to see a dinasaur on that bit of road at some point. They actually call that area something to do with Jurassic something or other. It's a scenic byway and one of the best bits of road I've had the privilege of enjoying. You see nothing and nobody and the road is clean and twisty. The scenery is pretty epic and there's a ton of trails shooting off into the heart of it. Some of them you could ride for a couple days if you felt so inclined.

Spent couple hours poking around I think. Honestly would have loved to camp there. Had food water and everything but I really wanted to spend more leisure time on the west coast this time. Idaho would have to wait till next time.

(Holy moly! I see you've already sold the first R1, plus the GS, and are now on your 2nd R1). Have you found a 12 step program in your area?

Haha no......maybe I should start one. I just want ALL the bikes. Honestly still frothing at the mouth for an FJR but all the ones in good shape are too pricey. I can't put that much into a single machine.....yet.

I actually bought race plastics and 6 sets of takeoffs for the R1. Going to be on a novice race grid this season by round 3 on our local circuit.

And might be picking up an old VFR for this year's riding... Haha yeah. I really do have a problem. Savings and retirement is one way to go....I just choose to go the other way.

But as for VFR vs another dual sport I still haven't decided yet. Will see where the budget and mindset is in a couple months.

Great photos! Love the story...

I presume you headed west on the going to the sun road and that most of your pictures are in Oregon. Definitely a few screensaver pictures there from Alberta and MT.

See any wildlife?

If you or anyone wants the full res images PM me your email and I'll send them over.

And yup that was the road. But I haven't made it to Oregon yet in these pictures. The next batch I will be though. Love Oregon so much. The first time I passed through there it was just a random name on a map to get through on the way to "California". Was kind of let down by California and completely blown away by Oregon. Now Oregon is the destination.

So very cool. Great pics. More info on your GS would be greatly appreciated. Well,,, at least by me. Seems to have a great deal of rake in that front end, but very little wind protection. Any thoughts?

So very cool. Great pics. More info on your GS would be greatly appreciated. Well,,, at least by me. Seems to have a great deal of rake in that front end, but very little wind protection. Any thoughts?

Mark

With a monstrous 43hp, you don't really get up to speeds where wind protection is an issue. But that being said you are quite pleased to cruise along in the 100-130kph range. You can still overtake easily enough by nudging it up to 150kph or so, but it becomes a bit too much bother to hold it at that speed for too long.

In the rain, the stock screen doesn't do much, but I have never been one for touring screens. I like the wind to break on my chest as opposed to my face. Less noise and buzz. And you feel more...."out there".

There isn't actually that much rake on the front forks. I was able to flip it back and forth as easily as I needed to and I tend to ride pretty aggressively. It had enough grunt to make pulling out of the technical corners exciting....especially with such a heavy rear end the front would get pretty light in the lower gears haha. But on the big sweepers I really did want a bit more pull. It was a big transition from the R1 that's for sure haha.

Anyway, wind protection was fine. It cut through the air and you never felt like an open parachute like you do on a naked bike. It cut through just fine and when you settled into a good pace you didn't even notice the wind.

The 2010 G650GS.....a great solo tourer. It does 30kph as enjoyably as it does 130kph. That was the issue I had with the FZ6. The yamaha sport motors always want to be revved to redline and are never really happy until you're making them scream a little bit. Power coming in late and whatnot.

There goes another chunk of my life, but well spent. I missed your first report somehow, so it was a pleasure to read through them both. Wonderful description of the incidents leading up to and following the encounter with the bear. I've been messed up way down a bad road a long way from home too, and you really catch the feeling. Glad you came through it and kept riding, and glad you were able to do it again, but without the bear part. Good pictures, too. My long rides have been on an FJR and a metric cruiser, neither one very dirt worthy, but I've sure looked down some of those side roads and seen something tempting. And shiny. Great adventures, great reports. Thanks.

"These are my principles. If you don't like them, I have others." Groucho Marx"Consider the daffodil. And while you're doing that, I'll be over here, looking through your stuff." Jack Handy"Watch out for that tree!" George of the Jungle

Agree with others. Great pictures. Living in and then just north of Oregon with a motorcycle is awesome. Love the report.

“Man has two supreme loyalties - to country and to family...So long as their families are safe, they will defend their country, believing that by their sacrifice they are safeguarding their families also. But even the bonds of patriotism, discipline, and comradeship are loosened when the family itself is threatened."